h e a r t b e a t
by LeaMichelle
Summary: "...someday, your eyes will turn into mine," he whispered, his gaze never faltering. "And there is nothing, nothing you can do to stop it. You will be controled, by your very own heartbeat." He froze.    I/K S/M S/R
1. Prologue

_h e a r t b e a t_

_: : : : : : : _

_Thu-thump._

_Thu-thump. _

_Thu-thu-thump._

_ It was pounding through his head, the blood, thick and hazy. It was all he could hear… the slow, loud pounding of his heart… it obscured his mind, all his thoughts. He didn't want to think. He just wanted to sit here, inside his brain, listening to the heart, feeling the sickly sweet numb feeling pressing all around him, the feeling of blood. _

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

_Drip. _

_A new sound, mingling with the slow, steady heartbeat. He could feel it, dripping from his claws… Each droplet of crimson shone eerie and bright as they fell, joining the large dark colored pool at his feet. The pool rippled. What was this… feeling? It was like a drug, warm and pleasing. He peered thickly through the foggy haze, not sure what he wanted to se. Then, all of a sudden, a voice penetrated the near silence. It sounded far away, as though it was coming from a great distant. _

"_Inuyasha!"_

_What? A voice… a name… was that his name? He opened his gleaming ruby eyes into narrow slits. He could see her clearly now, very clear. A woman. A beautiful one. She was small and slender, with long waves of shimmering ebony cascading down her back. She had bright, deep dark eyes framed with long lashes. And her skin… it was so creamy and soft… he could see blood running through her veins… _

"_Inuyasha!" she was running towards him, calling out that name, her voice still faint. _

_**Kill her. Kill her now. **_

_Kill her? He sniffed the air. She was no threat… he could easily over power her. With that one intake of air however, he caught her scent. She smelled so sweet and innocent, intoxicating. Her blood would smell sweeter still. She would taste better than anything, delicious even. _

_ She was still running towards him, her hair swinging behind her. She seemed to be getting no closer, hardly moving at all, despite the rapid way her creamy legs moved. She seemed to be running from a great distance indeed… Inuyasha thought slowly, sluggishly, comfortably. She spoke again. What was that? Something important. Her lips were moving, an earnest expression on her heart shaped face… _

_**Why do you hesitate, Inuyasha? Kill her now!**_

_Right. It was not important. Nothing was more important than himself. And that only meant blood. Blood was important. He wanted to feel that soft delicate white skin under his hands, feel it come apart under his claws, and have warm blood ooze between his fingers joining the puddle on the floor… he could see that graceful white swan's neck coming closer… it will feel so, so good to tear that flesh. She reached out her hand, stretching it towards him. _

_Yes, come closer foolish girl. He felt the muscles in his body tighten, his legs bend. He curled his claws inwards, feeling the old, now sticky blood on them. He held them out, the lethal weapons seeming to gleam. He had the most insane, crazy urges. To kill her. To drive himself through her. _

_ A small part of him still wanted to know what she had said. A part of him, no matter how small, was telling him it was important. Something urgent, something he would want to know. No. How could that be? What could possibly, possibly more enjoyably, more important, than this drug? This feeling. Her end was coming, he would have her, have it. That heady, intoxicating aroma would be filling the air, stronger than before. Her creamy skin would be deliciously sliced, and he would taste her, love her. _

_Blood! Blood! __**Blood! **_


	2. Silence Before the Storm

A/N Okay, okay, fucking finally, I can post this. I've had this story stuck in my head for ages. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how the hell to start it. I have a very hard time with beginnings, and if I don't like the beginning, the story will never be posted. Okay, er, as you've most probably figured out, I'm not shy with profanity. There will be language, and sexual/violent themes. Blah, blah, don't read if you can't stomach such things. My friend Val, for some strange reason, gets nauseas at the sight of boobs and cleavage, hahaha.

Disclaimer: I most definitely would not be sitting on my ass typing this if I had Inuyasha stuffed in my closet.

H e a r t b e a t

: : : : : : : : :

Chapter One: Silence Before the Storm

Pink petal lips curved up into a gentle smile, her deep sapphire eyes fluttering shut as a warm and gentle summer's breeze caressed her cheek. Kagome just loved June. She loved it almost as much as she loved autumn, or Christmas. And the very best part about this day, her and Inuyasha were alone. This almost never happened anymore. Ever since they picked up the other members of their small group, or as Kagome liked to refer to them as, her second family, two years ago, solace and alone time had been scarce. She couldn't even remember the last time her and Inuyasha had truly been alone. And to top it all off, Inuyasha seemed to be in a good mood too. This is extremely rare, and thus the moments must be cherished.

"Can you walk any slower, wench?"

Kagome sighed, exasperated. "Can't you ever enjoy anything, anything at all, Inuyasha? Just look and feel the beauty!" She waved her arms above her head.

Inuyasha gave her a sideways glance, his cheeks dusting curiously. "Keh, what beauty?"

Kagome looked up at the clear blue sky as she responded, "Just look, all the green, all

the blue, the warmth, the sun, the flowers."She smiled at a cluster of blooms in particular as they walked by. They weren't exactly on any sort of path, for the simple reason of: there wasn't one. Inuyasha had insisted that this was a shortcut, and that if they went through the forest instead of the main road, they would be there by nightfall. The group had set off this morning to go investigate a shard rumor, when a village man had stopped them not even an hour into their journey.

"Keade-sama needs you!" he had gasped, hunched over to catch his breath. Apparently, he had ran most of the way to find them. "She can't handle the demon alone, she's been terribly injured." Sango and Miroku had insisted that they would go alone, and that Kagome and Inuyasha should go on without them. At first they had protested at this, Kagome, and Inuyasha, (though he would never openly admit,) were worried about the old woman.

Their worries were shooed away. Sango had fiercely declared they could handle anything back at the village without the two of them coming along. Miroku had wisely pointed out that they would waste less time if they broke up into two groups. The situation at the village could be handled quickly, and this way, they wouldn't lose their trail of Narraku. Narraku was becoming more and more difficult to find, and they couldn't afford to lose him. Inuyasha had to agree with the logic.

So the monk and demon slayer had rode off on Kirara, taking Shippo and promising to catch up with them the next morning.

And so this left Kagome beaming at meaningless flowers, and Inuyasha staring after her in slight confusion. He guessed the scenery was nice. Pretty even. But honestly, he really didn't give two squirts of piss. The most annoying part to Inuyasha was that the wench refused to stay still. She kept moving around him, chattering and staring and gawking at weird things that held no importance what so ever.

"Stay still already would ya!"he pointed to his right, "Stay there! I can't keep an eye on you if you keep fucking moving!"

Kagome pursed her lips, but to Inuyasha's great relief she stayed where she was on his right side.

He didn't want to tell her this, but walking in the forest around these parts was a lot more dangerous than he had let on. He refused to tell her because he didn't want to ruin her good mood, and anyway, he was extremely capable of keeping her safe if anything came along. There was no danger to be detected right at this current minute. Inuyasha swore to himself it was back to the main road at the slightest sign of something ominous.

Kagome would be safe. Kagome deserved a little happiness, and he knew she liked the forest. It was so peaceful and serene, it seemed nothing could happen.

If only he hadn't fucking jinxed it.

He glanced sideways, for what felt like the thousandth time today, at Kagome. He felt it would be very awkward if he openly stared at her. Staring meant questions, and Inuyasha was in no mood to explain anything. It was rather amusing to watch her, and she wasn't bad to look at. Or hear. Or smell. Nope, not bad at all.

Inuyasha grimaced to himself. These were dangerous thoughts to have. Inuyasha looked about him, anywhere but to the raven haired girl beside him. He usually didn't have time like this to dwell on Kagome. Usually, there were distractions.

"Isn't this nice Inuyasha?"

His head whipped around to look at her, involuntarily, he assured. He grunted. She looked down, a shy smile on her heart shaped face.

"I mean, this is the first time, well I mean in a while anyway."

Huh? First time for what? The hell.

"I mean, since we've been alone. Together." She stammered, blushing faintly, looking at the ground as she talked. Which was just fine, he could do the looking.

"Oh yeah, I guess it is." He said distantly. Of course he had noticed. It hadn't really struck him how much he had missed this, just the two of them traveling together. Damn, he sounded like a sap.

"It's kind of nice, you know. Sort of like how things used to be when it all started." She giggled suddenly.

"What?"

"When we first met, you tried to kill me."

Inuyasha grimaced outwardly. "Hey, I just woke up from a 50 year forced coma!"

"And you thought I was being a sneaky wench,"

"Yeah, well, hard to do you in when you can smash my fucking face to the dirt," he grumbled.

Instead of getting mad, like Inuyasha suspected she would, she merely eyed the beads adorning his neck thoughtfully, still walking alongside him. He wondered fleetingly what she was thinking about. He didn't much like being reminded of that particular day, it had been hell all over. He had been pissed, there was a hot, building fiery eruption in his stomach, and he had been tempted to slash everything he saw to pieces. It was probably the worst possible time Inuyasha could think of to meet Kagome.

He had to admit, he had hated her guts. And then suddenly, one day, he didn't. He could never pin point the day his subconscious had decided that Kagome was no longer worth hating. It had crept up on him, and he didn't miss it. Inuyasha shook his head. Dumb thoughts. He didn't really want to think about it. The past was the worst place to be.

He knew he should think about it. He knew, he had a small shitload of things he should consider, buried stubbornly in the back of his mind. He always told himself to think about it later.

"I wonder, how much longer the well will stay open," Kagome said quietly, not looking at him. Inuyasha didn't answer. He had this odd, funny feeling in his tummy, but he stamped that shit pile in his head stubbornly down.

Was now later?

"I wonder what will happen. You know, after the jewel is gone and Narraku defeated."

Inuyasha's brow furrowed. Something didn't feel right.

The air seemed still, it was way too quiet. Where were the birds? The animals? The wind? Not a leaf stirred. Something was not right. His eyes darted around, looking for any signs he should be aware of. It seemed darker now, too.

" -and what about Sango and Kohaku? We have to take away his shard eventually, right? There's so much that could happen… "Kagome theorized. She was completely unaware that Inuyasha wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what she was saying.

For sure it's gotten darker. It's for sure too quiet. I can't smell a thing. What in the hell is going on? Where—

There was a sudden, strong gust of wind that sent leaves and sticks flying, Kagome's hair and skirt whipped around her in a flurry. Inuyasha spun on his heel. There was a gigantic, ominously dark cloud looming overhead, coming rapidly this way, rushing across the sky. The leaves were suddenly all in a flurry, rustling, whispering frantically in their trees.

"A storm?"

Inuyasha had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't just a storm. Shit. Shit, shit, shit shit shit shit. And as far as he knew, they weren't close enough to any village to make it. The village was still hours away.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, flinging her hands out as a particularly strong gust caught debris flying in her face. Inuyasha watched in horror as it suddenly grew black around them, misty foggy, and gray. It was as though the sun had suddenly been snuffed out.

Inuyasha warranted that this was now the time to grab Kagome and run. This definitely counted as ominous, in his book.

No sooner had he thought that when there was a horrible, earth shaking roar and the world seemed to tremble as a intensely bright and scorching tongue of fire shot towards them. Or more specifically, Kagome.

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha snatched her up bridal style and attempted to streak away to safety. He didn't let go, not even when he turned around to see what was going on. His eyes widened unvoluntarily, and his heart plummeted into his stomach.

"It's a fucking dragon?"

Perhaps his earlier thoughts of being able to protect Kagome from absolutely anything was a bit over confident. But only a bit. He hadn't seen a dragon since he defeated his old man's enemy, Ryukotsusei,. And this one looked nothing like him. The creature was big and black, with large leathery wings spread out on either side of its body. It had a long, scaly neck and a triangular shaped head. Sharp claws sported from all four feet, it skimmed the trees as it flew overhead, still roaring. What in the hell was it doing here? What was it looking for? The dragon reared back, and an explosion of fire set the trees aflame.

Didn't the last one spit lightening?

"Shit," Inuyasha groaned, covering his nose with his haori sleeve as smoke filled the air. They had to get out of here. The intense billowing wind and fire really wasn't helping, now ash, flames, and other rubbish were flying at them.

"Inuyasha, what's going on?" Kagome cried pathetically, burying her face in his chest.

"Holy shit." The dragon was now tearing at the burning trees, as if determined it should get to them. The thing was so vastly huge, Inuyasha couldn't understand why it didn't just rip the forest down. They had nowhere to go, the fire was quickly spreading. The only way out was through the path the horrible beast was currently paving away

Inuyasha realized he was standing like a fool gawking at the suddenness of it all, and promptly tried to take action.

"You stay right here, actually no. Run, run as fast as you can to the nearest village, I'll find you."

And of course, the stubborn girl said- "No, Inuyasha, I'll help,"

"No you bloody hell won't!"

"No, I won't leave you!"

"Goddamn it Kagome, now is no fucking time to be a martyr!"

But at that precise moment, the dragon decided now would be the appropriate time to finally scuttle onto the ground in front of them. It's long talons dug into the soil. It shrieked, and made a swipe in their direction. "Damn it all," Inuyasha snarled, setting Kagome down behind him and grabbing Tessaiga. It transformed in an instant "Come at me now, ugly!" Inuyasha yelled, charging at the beast and swinging his sword. The huge dragon, who was towering over the burning trees, easily swiped him out of the air. Inuyasha fell to the dirt with a thud.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, attempting to run towards him. The dragon nonchalantly stepped over Inuyasha's form and made his way toward her, seemingly calm. Kagome stood there frozen.

_Inuyasha, what happened? Did it step on him? Is he…. No, he isn't, what is it doing?_

The black winged reptile swiped a taloned forefoot in front of him, smashing Kagome to the ground as well, its long deep claws piercing into her shoulder. Kagome's vision swam as the wind was knocked out of her, and a sharp stab of pain temporarily blinded her. Kagome forced herself weakly to her knees, still in an utter daze.

A wave of unimaginable terror sswept over her as the large creature stopped mere feets in front of her, it's head looking down at her from a great height. With unnerving speed, the dragon's head was suddenly right down at Kagome's eye level, still mere feets away from her face. It's whole head was bigger than Kagome herself, she had no idea how Inuyasha planned to fight such a thing—oh wait, hahaha, he can't.

The dragon's bright, glowing ruby eyes stared fixedly at her, smoke curling out of the slits in his snout. She was suddenly fearful that it might feel the need to spit fire at her, again. It stared unblinkingly, it's ruby eyes seemed to burn like twin coals. And Kagome felt she was being scorched just by looking at them. She found that she couldn't move. The eyes, they took up her entire line of vision, they were all she could see, and they held her in a petrified trance.

_Why isn't it moving? Is this even real… _

Without warning, the dark stormy purple sky opened up, and torrents of water came rushing down. The red eyes stayed. Kagome was drowning, in water, in fire, in red. She was aware distantly that her shoulder was in agonizing pain, that hard rain doing nothing to help it. Her body felt numb, freezing. Thunder rumbled loudly above them, a horrible crashing sound around them.

_Why couldn't she move?_

"Get back, you monster!"

Kagome was broken out of her trance at once, the eyes leaving her. She saw, for a fleeting moment in a burst of bright blue lightening forking across the sky. There was a blurred image of shining silver. The dragon swiped it's mighty tail, and threw Kagome back into a tree with force. She knew nothing more.

"Kagome! Kagome, no!"

There was a great roar, and next thing Inuyasha knew, he had his sword up in front of his face trying to stave off a Gods knew how heavy dragon. Old Scaly wasn't making it easy on him, that's for sure. He was straining with both hands, while it was pressing down with just one foot. It seemed to be slowly attempting to push him down into the ground like a nail, in no rush at all. Inuyasha felt every muscle in his body scream in utter protest, his knees buckling under the pressure. He couldn't remember a single time in his life when something was ever heavier than he could handle.

'_Little hanyou… _

Inuyasha heard a voice in his head, soft and slithery.

'_Very little indeed. _

Inuyasha's head filled with a soft reptilian chuckle, and he felt rooted to the spot.

'_You are weak. I can crush you. _

'_What?_

There was another soft, derisive chuckle echoing off the inside of his head. Everything around him, the booming thunder, the pelt of the rain, the flashes of lightening. They all seemed dim, muted. He could only sluggishly hear the voice in his head, hissing and slithering like a poisonous snake.

'_Perhaps… if you were stronger… Your fate need not be. _

'_What are you saying?'_

The weight was gone. Inuyasha blinked furiously, struggling to come out of his own hazy mind. He was still holding up Tessaiga with both hands, his knees were pressed into the mud, and rain was drenching him through his bones. He stayed motionless.

What the hell just happened?

Inuyasha jumped to his feet, swaying slightly. He spun around. Where is it? The hell is the little fucker? But there was nothing in the clearing. There was only bare naked trees, ash and smoke smoldering in the wetness. Everything around him felt dead. Lifeless, soulless. Nothing but open, gray skies pouring down on the devastated forest. He looked around once more before a thought struck him.

"Kagome!"

He couldn't believe he had forgotten about her, for even a moment. And there she was, slumped against a large barren oak tree. It's leafless limbs stretched over her, sharp and ominous. There was a large puddle of something that looked horribly like blood. Inuyasha stared at it, open mouthed. He couldn't remember ever seeing so much of Kagome's blood before in his life. She had wounds before, but never like this. Inuyasha fell to his already mud caked knees before ripping apart the entire sleeve of her shirt, desperate to prove himself wrong. The appendage was covered in the sticky red run, being made worse by the unrelenting downpour. Three long, deep gashes bore on Kagome's upper bicep, the torn flesh absolutely horrifying to Inuyasha's eyes.

There was really no convincing himself otherwise.

He quickly gathered her up in his arms, laying her head delicately on his shoulder. He held her left arm out carefully, slowly, not wanting to make anything rip apart worse. He gritted his teeth.

How could I have let this happen?

He realized suddenly that Kagome was stirring. It was amazing. She shouldn't be waking up any time soon with her injuries, a few days even.

"Inuyasha?"

She whispered his name, sending a slight chill down his already cold back. She lifted her face up from his shoulder, her deep midnight eyes looking right into him. Her face was ghastly pale, and the rainwater was making her black hair stick and frame her small heart shaped face. She looked beautiful, even with the newly forming tears now clinging to her eyelashes.

Shit.

"No, Kagome, don't cry," he cupped her face in his hands, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. The tears and rain had mixed together to make tracks running down her skin. Her long eye lashes dripped water as she blinked slowly, before her eyes fluttered closed.

"Inuyasha," she whispered again, her small hands balling up the fabric of his shirt weakly, "it hurts."

Inuyasha glanced at her arm again. It was everywhere, the horrible red liquid had thoroughly stained her white shirt, and her skin. Well no shit.

"I know," he stated weakly. What could he say? Sorry? You're safe now?

She nodded before promptly going limp in his arms and falling forwards, back into his shoulder.

But she was not safe.

: : : : : : : : :

A/N All right, I just gotta say. The first few chapter suck in almost every story, good or bad. Stick it out. I tried to make the first chapter seem interesting, but I might have just blatantly over done it. And please, tell me if Inuyasha is OOc, I'm having a hard time getting what I want with this. I might have made it too mushy . but I really need to get on with this. The next chapter should be out next week. It should get better. Also, I have no idea how many chapters this will be. Maybe around 20. Maybe more. And I'm sorry this one is short, I promise they get longer hahaha.

Until next time my lovelies!

LeaMichelle


	3. InstinctsChapter 3

A/N: I really, really should be writing a major psychology essay… fuck.

P.S hey, anyone want to beta me?

Disclaimer: *stares at the newspaper in wonder,* (pretend people, pretend,) Rumiko Takahashi, looking for renters of… Inuyasha?

h e a r t b e a t

: : : : : : : : :

Chapter Two: Instincts

A shaft of pure, pale moonlight flitted across the hard wooden floor, the only source of light in the small and dark inn room. He had slid the shouji door open slightly, wanting to smell the fresh summer's night and hear the soothing night sounds . He couldn't ever remember going through a summer's night without criket noise. He found it somewhat comforting, and he needed that right now.

He liked night, it was his favorite time to be awake. He wondered briefly if that was ominous, should he not? Bad things were suppose to sprout from the darkness…

Inuyasha shook his head with a jerk, moving his eyes away from the shaft of pure moon. That was not what he wanted to think about, and so he told those thoughts to go back to the shit pile in the closet. He glanced swiftly at the sleeping girl curled up in the futon in the corner, dead to the world.

Some thoughts, however, really needed to be thought about. For instance… What the hell was he going to do? He couldn't leave her. And he couldn't stay.

Luckily, Inuyasha had found something, a place. It had been strange really. Inuyasha had ran through the downpour, the rain beating on him mercilessly as he held Kagome close in his arms. It was futile, it would be hours till he reached the village, going to Keades or forward. He was hoping the one ahead, their original intended destination, was closer. He could only hope that the trouble at said desehnated village wouldn't be there tonight, not now. There was no way he could tend to Kagome, help the village, and fight off whatever monstrosity was disturbing them, all at once.

The tending her part was already proving to be a problem. which was not good at all, seeing as it was the most important. He couldn't do a thing. He couldn't use anything to bandage her, everything was soaked, the blood would only seep right through. He had wrapped her up in his fire rat, the only thing he could really think of, to keep her warm at the very least. He held as much pressure down with his hand on the affronting injury as possible while still running. It was a challenge to run carrying cargo bridal style, without jostling said cargo.

And then suddenly, miraculously,at the pinnacle of Inuyasha's panic, it appeared. Through the gloom and pounding rain he could see faint twinkling lights. A village.

He didn't even know this village was here, and it didn't much matter to him. It was depressingly small, tucked away in some foothills. But he was immensely grateful it was there never the less. He had ran straight to the biggest structure he could see, which luckily happened to be the inn, and pounded on the door with a single fist, not relenting until it flew open.

The woman who had answered stood there, staring at him. Inuyasha was so relieved that he too didn't say anything for a second before he remember and shoved his way past her. To the woman's part, all she said was, "Wait here, I'll get bandages," before disappearing. Inuyasha didn't care.

He plopped himself on the floor in the middle of the room, rain water and blood pooling steadily around him. He ripped off the fire rat covering Kagome and proceeded to rapidly lick her arm clean, desperately catching all the blood in his mouth. He didn't much know why he kept doing this. He had tried to lick it clean in the destructed clearing, but the rain kept getting in his way. And right now, he didn't know either. He simply had a strong compelling urge to lick the wounds clean, and in a round about way it made sense. Dogs licked their wounds. He was a dog. To an extent. And there wasn't anything else he could immediately use to get her clean. His clothes, her clothes, were soaked and wouldn't do anything but smear it and make it worse, and there wasn't a scrap of dry fabric anywhere.

The arm was relatively clean in a matter of minutes. He paused, inspecting his work. The majority was clean, you could now see her unmared ivory skin, except in the places where—obviously- it was marred, the long gash marks. That particular area was still sluggishly oozing, slowly to be sure, but still there.

"Here,"

He jerked his head up with a start as bandages were shoved into his hand.

The woman.

She was sitting with her legs folded beneath her, her hands resting in her lap and her dark eyes focused intently on Kagome.

How long had she been there? He had been working mechanically, unthinking and hadn't detected her scent, hadn't heard a thing. This wasn't good, he was losing it, nothing was suppose to sneak up on them at this crucial moment in time, especially not a meager human.

He would beat himself up over it later.

Was she a threat? Inuyasha studied her a moment, the white strips of cloth forgotten in his hand. She wasn't doing anything, she had this odd expression on her face that he didn't understand, but sitting quietly with her hands in plain sight. He sniffed her scent delicately, detecting no ill will in it. A quick flick of his eyes told him they were the only ones still in the room. Good.

With a nonchalant grunt he began wrapping the strips around her arm carefully, making sure to cover everything and wrap it up tight. As of right now, constricting the blood flow in her arm might be a wise decision. He wasn't really sure, he hoped so. He decided he would loosen it later. He furrowed his brows as he clumsily tied a knot, his claws making it difficult. He really wished he had Kagome's backpack. She had warned him and the rest of the group constantly that all wounds had to be cleaned thoroughly before wrapping in case of serious infections. She always had some sort of spray… Damn. Hopefully this was good enough. There was a cough. Inuyasha froze. His eyes stayed on the little white knot of cloth, not daring to move.

Good Gods, was he ever jumpy tonight.

'She's still fucking here?

Silence.

Now what?

He knew what this must look like. He, a tall demon with funny hair, eyes, ears, sharp claws and fangs had just come chargint through the door, carrying a bloody human woman no less. It must look like he was trying to… Inuyasha cringed at the mere thought, darkness seeming to surround the very idea. That wasn't it, of course that wasn't it, but what must she think? He risked a sideways glance in her direction.

Nothing. She was just looking at him.

Shit.

Was she going to kick them out. Had she already told people they were here? Were they going to attack them at any moment? He had originally thought it was a good thing she hadn't screamed, or that other people hadn't come back with her, but now he didn't know.

She coughed again, louder this time. He still didn't move.

"would you like a room?"

Relief washed over him temporarily. So she wasn't about to kick him out. Yet.

He finally turned his head to look at her. He didn't have money. He wasn't about to tell her that. If there was even a slight chance he could give Kagome shelter, he wouldn't fuck it up. So he nodded curtly, not saying anything. The woman looked at him, still not moving right away. If he had to guess, he would guess she was middle aged, thirty, maybe. She was decent looking, long dark hair with deep dark eyes. She had dark eyebrows, which seemed to be drawn in thought. She had the air of someone very wise. Inuyasha didn't have the faintest clue why he thought this. Then she got up swiftly, gesturing with her hand for him to follow her. Inuyasha inwardly sighed in relief, for the second time that night.

She hadn't asked them yet for payment. He stood up with Kagome in his arms, and still dripping water himself, followed her out of the room and into the corridor.

She showed him to a room rather far back in the building, the rooms that had doors leading to the outside connected to the sleeping chambers. She pushed back the shouji soundlessly, stepping aside to let him through.

"Should I bring another futon?" she inquired, standing in the doorway. Inuyasha glanced around. Yes, there was only one.

"No," he said, his voice coming out rather rough, deep and croaky. He sounded like he was some animal who never talked. Fucking peachy.

"If you want, the baths are down the hall, you should be able to tell where it is."

She left.

Inuyasha stood there for a minute, still holding the unconscious Kagome in his arms and creating another puddle on the floor. Right. He was wet and covered in Kagome's blood. He shoved the futon around with his foot so that he could see it clearly , and settled Kagome down on top of it. He threw a blanket unceremonaly on top of her, tucking the edges in around her. He squatted there, just staring.

Ah, it just occurred to him.

Two futons… one meant they were mated.

…

Too late now.

He contemplated another thought.

Dare he leave, to get clean?

Inuyasha decided he didn't dare.

So he made himself comfortable propped up against the wall, with the sliding door slightly open, with that patch of moon. And that brought him back to what he was currently pondering.

What the hell to do now?

He knew that it was not a good idea to move Kagome. She had lost a lot of blood, was weak, and wouldn't be able to fight for a few days, at the very least. He suppose he should be grateful. Really, in comparison to how big the monster's claws were, this was only a scratch. It could have easily ripped her entire arm off, broken straight through the bone, but it hadn't. He shuddered inwardly. Yes, grateful it wasn't anything more. How close that had been. She would have been devastated, unable to use a bow.

And Inuyasha, though a little bruised and winded, had no injuries. It was infuriating. It was almost like the fucker had just been playing with them. Inuyasha shuddered. That dragon was even more powerful than Ryukotsusei, and he had been one hell of an opponent. He hadn't stood a chance. Not a damn, mother fucking chance. Come to think of it, how on earth did he beat Ryukotsusei anyway? Oh yeah. Backlash wave—why hadn't he used that? Gods, he was so stupid. And his little bought of forgetfulness almost cost him Kagome's life. That was unacceptable.

And it's words… or his thoughts, whatever the fuck they were.

'_Perhaps…if you were stronger… Your fate need not be. _

Of course he was too weak. He wasn't anything. He was nothing. Scratch that, half of a nothing. Not even worthwhile to be a whole nothing. He had thought, for a while, that maybe he was getting stronger. His sword was strong. It could slay 100 demons, it could break through most barriars, it could contain his youkai. But his sword didn't mean shit if he, Inuyasha wasn't strong. He had the damn sword, and he had still managed to let Kagome get hurt. What if it was more? What if next time, it was her life? There were too many possibilities with that outcome.

'_Nothing, nothing, he was nothing… _

Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

She really shouldn't be here. Staying with him. He wasn't worthy. He wasn't strong. Hell, he wasn't clean, never clean. And he didn't mean his skin. He had always wondered with Kagome's obsession with being clean. But, it made sense in a way. She was pure internally, why shouldn't she match on the outside? Inuyasha only bathed when strictly necessary, because it didn't make a difference anyway. He was still dirty. Always dirty. And he was selfish, always selfish.

He had tried once, to be selfless. To do the right thing. He had sent Kagome back to her time, and gave her no way to return. She wouldn't have to get hurt. To see blood. To see Kikyo. To be around him. But she had come back, and he found that he couldn't do the right thing again. But it was her choice. She had made that clear, hell, he had made that clear. She did not have to stay. But, she chose to stay. Which technically, left him off the invisible hook, right?

It didn't feel that way. He still felt responsible for her. Why the hell did she want to stay, anyway? Surely it wasn't for him?

Maybe.

He knew she liked him. But he didn't know how much. And he didn't know what kind.

Go back to the shit pile.

'…_need not be your fate._

What fate, which one? It obviously wasn't a good one. Inuyasha hoped that dragon didn't know what in the hell it was talking about. He hoped it had just been spouting out a load of threatening and good sounding horse shit. He didn't like thinking about fates. He didn't know what his was, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Nothing good could come for a hanyou. He could accept that. Probably.

Anyway, once again, what the hell was he going to do? Couldn't leave, couldn't stay. The reason being: the others had no idea where they were. And their was a demon, possibly a Narraku, to fight in the village they were suppose to meet. But like hell he was just going to leave Kagome here.

Inuyasha studied the beam of moon, thinking. He could just wait. He could just hope the others would take care of everything without him. But what if it really was Narraku? He didn't think he could bear giving up an opportunity to finally finish him off.

There you go again… selfish.

He gritted his teeth again. So what, he should wait here? Even if it wasn't Narraku, and the others took care of everything and came out fine, who's to say they didn't leave that village before he got their? What if they went off to look for him and Kagome, not knowing where they were? Then they would be separated, and wouldn't get back together till they both ended up in Keade's village at the same time, and Gods knew how long that could be.

His inner voice was quiet.

'Good, he thought savagely, clenching his fist. Or perhaps, not so good, the bloody hell was he going to do?

He sighed, putting his chin on his chest. Well, he was for sure spending the night here. Maybe, he should just sleep. He fastened his eyes, once again, to the pure silvery glow running across the floor.

: : : : :

He awoke, suddenly, noticing that his little slip of moon was now a deep orange gold. Morning, it was morning, he did sleep after all. He felt a well of panic rise up in him. He hadn't actually meant to sleep, damn it, he was suppose to come to some miraculous conclusion before he actually let that happen.

Damn it.

He crawled towards Kagome on his knees, intending to look her over. He was quite pissed at himself for not thinking to check her sometime during the night. What kind of ungrateful bastard was he?

Inuyasha very carefully pulled her arm out from underneath her blanket. She was still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed. It looked okay, on the outside, anyway. The bandages were a little damp, but not soaked through. He would have to change them. Shit, he would need more to change with. He glance bemusedly at the shoji doors leading out to the rest of the building. How on earth was he going to find that woman? He supposed he could just sniff her out. But then, after he found her, then what?

'_Wench, fetch me some more bandages,_

Hm, maybe not.

'_Wench, fetch me some bandages, please._

Yeah… maybe that one.

As he stared at the door, contemplating this, it slid open.

What the fuck? Was this woman spying on him or something? How the hell did she know he was even awake?

He watched her glance about the room, before her eyes settled on him. She gave him a tiny smile.

"Would you and your lady like some breakfast, and more bandages?"

Inuyasha nodded, surprised. Well, that made things easier. Wait, his lady?

She hesitated, before saying, "Would you like me to tend to her while you take a bath?"

Inuyasha stared.

She stared right back, her face open and innocent.

Did he really, smell that bad?

Did he really, trust her with Kagome alone?

He tooka long, hopefully discreet, sniff in her direction. Her scent was giving off no ill intentions, his instincts weren't saying a thing. She hadn't told on them, for being here. There had been no pitch forks, or screams of angry men in the night. She had let him stay here, hadn't turned them away. It had really, been a pretty peaceful night, not counting the obvious.

And, of course, he stank to high Nirvana.

He stood up swiftly, nodding curtly at her. He didn't bother to say anything as he swept past her. She was probably too scared to mess anything up, he was a demon after all. She probably thought he would rip her to shreds if he was angered. If it were a man, maybe he would.

She must have some balls to even talk to him, much less offer assistance. He also took into consideration that he wasn't going to be gone more than five minutes, ten tops, what could happen? Inuyahsa mentally winced. That thought always seemed to follow up with bad events. He would be quick.

He came back, his wet clothes in one hand, and his body clad in a plain white yukata. The blanket was now folded down to Kagome's hips. Inuyasha looked away, blushing. He had forgotten just how ripped up her clothes had been. He hadn't noticed at the time, but her shirt had been falling apart after he ripped off the sleeve, it was gaping open. Perhaps that's why this woman think's she's my… whatever.

"It looks good, really good actually," she said as she wrapped the last strip of cloth around Kagome's arm, not looking up. "She should be healed in no time." Inuyasha then heard ripping sounds, of fabric being cut. He wasn't sure what to do about that, should he stop her? They were ruined anyway. Wait, women don't molest each other, right?

He snuck a peek over his shoulder, (he had stubbornly turned his back to make sure he didn't see anything,) and saw that she had a clean kimono sitting on the floor beside her. Ah, this solved matters. He would have just given her his fire rat, but it was really quite revealing, which was fine, but only aroundhim. An actual kimono would work better. He felt relieved, that he wouldn't have to steal one.

Inuyasha wondered why this inn lady wasn't raining down questions on him. Surely it wasn't common for hanyous to stroll in with bleeding maidens?

"You're going to have to help me, you know," she said in an amused tone.

Inuyasha whipped his head around, mouth gaping.

"Wh- what?"

"The kimono," she said, turning to face him. She looked slightly confused.

"Er,"

Fuck.

God damn, what should he do? He couldn't possibly- when she wakes up- no, wait, what if she woke up while he was helping? It would be sit, sit, sit sit sit sit, sit, sit, sit, sitsit, until forever magically stopped.

But what if, she gets someone else to help her do it? Inuyasha wasn't sure if he liked the idea of people knowing they were here if they didn't already. What if she got another male?

"Keh," he said, whirling about. She smiled at him, before gesturing, "Sit behind her, hold her up for me."Inuyasha gulped inaudibly, before he pushed up his sleeves and sat cross legged behind Kagome, making sure his lap was covered with the yukata. Woman smiled at him again. He hated smiley people.

"My name is Akagane, by the way," she commented as she lifted Kagome's uninjured shoulder, Inuyasha moving closer so that her back settled against his chest. Her smooth, naked back. He determinedly kept his eyes on this 'Akagane person. After a moment he realized she had in fact asked him a question.

"Er, Inuyasha."

"Hm, it suits you."

Inuyasha bristled slightly.

'The fuck, woman, you better explain.

"You know, with the ears and all."

Well.

At least she didn't think he was a neko.

"Okay, hold her shoulders, I'm going to make her lean forward a bit so I can slip this around her and get her arms in." Inuyasha grasped Kagome's small shoulders in his hands, making careful that he didn't touch anything he shouldn't. When she was leaning over, he decided it was safe to look at the back of her head.

Which turned out to not be the greatest idea. He could see soft delicate curls stuck to the nape of her neck, since Akagane had swept most of her hair onto the girl's shoulder. And he had the insane desire to rub the strands between his fingers.

He stared at that spot until it was covered by the kimono. Then he reached forward and pulled those curls out of the collar before he could think about what he was doing. He snatched that hand back, his face burning.

Luckily, Akagane wasn't watching him, she was busy tying the kimono in place and smoothing and arranging everything.

What did it matter, really, she thought they were together. In which case, he was perfectly allowed to do whatever.

So he gathered the rest of Kagome's long raven hair, letting it fall down the length of her back. Hm, it was a lot longer than he remembered. Then again, she had taken to wearing it up in the last year. She had decided her hair needed a change if her uniform was going to change. It really wasn't that different looking in his opinion . The top was still white, but there was no green. And the short skirt thing was blue. He ran a finger absently through her hair. It was really soft. Must be all the future goop she puts in it.

"All right, that's better," Akagane stood up, looking the still sleeping and sitting form of Kagome over.

Inuyasha let Kagome fall back against his chest. To his great surprise, she mumbled something and snuggled into his shoulder. She hadn't moved or made a sound all night. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, the blankets were still bunched around her hips. He heard a soft chuckle.

Inuyasha looked up at Akagane, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. She smiled warmly at him, and suddenly she looked a lot younger. Maybe 20. She then stooped down to the floor and scooped up his clothes.

"I'll dry these for you,"

"Keh, don't bother. They'll be dry in a few more minutes."

Akagane looked at him curiously, but set them back down.

"How long will you two be staying, then?"

Inuyasha looked away. Yes, how long was he staying? What about the others, damn it…

Something must have shown on his face because Akagane Sat herself down beside him, exactly like she had last night. She ignored the glare he sent her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Keh, nothing's wrong," he grumbled. Why was she even asking, wasn't there some rule about inn keepers not talking to their guest for more than strictly necessary? He had conveniently forgotten about his earlier musings where she wasn't nosey at all.

"Okay, tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

Inuyasha fumed beside her, unconsciously holding Kagome a little tighter in his arms.

' …20 my ass, she's an old, nosy, annoying hag… presuming I got a problem… doesn't even know me…

He stopped fuming. Was he fucking crazy?Yep, probably. But it looked like the best choice. And for some odd reason, he trusted her. Like the old hag in the village. She didn't seem the least bit hostile. And…

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, her long black eyelashes feathered against her cheekbones. She reminded him a bit of Kagome. Only a bit though. …for some odd, unexplainable reason, he had a good feeling about Akagane.

Was this going to be one of his very, very stupid mistakes? Did he have a whole lot of choices?

Akagane looked startled when Inuyasha looked her straight in the eyes and said "Yes, you can help me."

: : : : :

A/N: I know, I know, boring chapter. But it had to be done. Next chapter will be more exciting… I'm pretty sure… Anyway, just a note: I know the Japanese word for 'God is 'Kami, but let's face it, kami damn just doesn't sound as good as 'God damn. No offense to anyone's religion. And there are other times I notice that I'm juggling English and Japanese terms together—bear with me.

I have to say, thank you all so much for the reviews, they made me feel warm and fuzzy. If I didn't rply to you I do apologize. For some odd reason, I keep getting, "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page," or "web page has expired," half the time I try to reply. Ugh, it's damn annoying.

Does anyone think Inuyasha is too OOC?


End file.
